Once again, a Cage Warriors night at the BEC Arena in Manchester became the Luke Riley show on September 21.
The undefeated star returned to the promotion at Cage Warriors 178 with his most efficient performance to date, stopping Alexandre Junior in just over two minutes.
Riley was set to fight for his place on the UFC roster in this year's season of Dana White's Contender Series until visa issues prevented it from happening.
The promotion's fighter of the year in 2023 responded to this setback by proving once again that he is a future star that needs to make the next step in his career.
One fighter that could be following the same steps is Wales' Ieuan Davies who submitted Amaury Junior in the first round to move to 6-0.
His performance in the co-main event showed that he is ready to face the toughest tests on the European scene with all of his pro wins coming via finish.
Just like the previous night at Cage Warriors 177, it was an easy night for the judges who were only called into action three times, twice in the opening back-to-back contests and later in the first fight on the main card.
That slot saw an incredibly impressive pro debut from highly regarded amateur Shay Ingram who had to work hard to secure the decision win against another fighter with bags of potential in Marc-Philippe Ngatchou.
Nick Beukema, Joe Fields and Jack Humphries all secured finishes to continue building their undefeated records as ones to watch.
A battle between two UK veterans went the way of Gavin Hughes who was able to secure a submission comeback against Dean Trueman to turn the tide.
With the Manchester double-bill in the books, we've come away with several names that could go on to big things in Cage Warriors, a handful that are ready to step into main event spotlights and in Luke Riley, the next name from the UK who is sure to make some noise on the global stage.
Check out the full results below:
Main Card
Luke Riley def. Alexandre Junior via KO (punches) after 2:05 of round 1
Ieuan Davies def. Amaury Junior via Submission (standing rear-naked choke) after 1:37 of round 1
Jack Humphries def. Fabian Ufs via TKO (punches) after 2:12 of round 1
Gavin Hughes def. Dean Trueman via Submission (Guillotine choke) after 0:48 round 2
Dara Ward def. George McManus defeated Dara Ward via Submission after 3:48 of round 2
Shay Ingram def. Marc Ngatchou via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Prelims
Joe Fields def. Costin Buhnă via technical submission (D’arce Choke) after 2:24 of round 1
Nick Beukema def. Cameron Chamberlain via technical submission (Rear-naked choke) after 2:24 of round 1
Gregory Wamytan def. Sheldon Ryan via technical submission (Darce choke) after 1:09 of round 1
Harry Shaw def. Stef Murray via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Jordan Molinari def. Matthew Friel via unanimous decision (29-28,29-28, 29-28)
